A survivor of clergy sex abuse has offered some provocative thoughts on where he believes the real danger lies today.

From Florida Catholic:

A couple of months ago, a reporter from a local paper called to get my opinion on a legal settlement concerning a victim of clergy abuse. As a survivor of clergy sexual abuse – the priest who abused me is serving a prison sentence – I am often called upon for comments when news occurs in the area.

What I said to the reporter that day was probably not what she expected. Many people are surprised to learn that my greatest concern right now is for children in public schools.

It took a long time for the Catholic Church to admit it was wrong in the handling of the abuse of children by the church clergy or employees, but it has taken steps to address these problems and assist victims. The Diocese of St. Petersburg has done even more than many dioceses, and I have found Bishop Robert N. Lynch to be a man dedicated to protecting children in Catholic schools, catechism classes and other programs where church volunteers or employees are in contact with children, youths and teens. The diocese could always do more and that’s something I will continue to work with Bishop Lynch to try and address. But again, I feel it has done a great deal.

I wish I could say the same about the public schools. It seems that every other week we hear about another allegation of sexual misconduct by a public school teacher. It seems to me that there is a double standard at work. The Catholic Church is accepting responsibility for what occurs in its programs, but the public schools are not. If the church harbors a pedophile it is held accountable; if the school system protects a pedophile in public schools, the system can’t be sued easily because of the government’s sovereign immunity, even if people in the system were suspicious or knew of the abuse. The leaders making those decisions don’t have to worry about going to jail.

What are we saying? That the Catholic Church is the only one who has to pay for pain? That the public schools should not be held responsible by the same standards we apply to the Catholic Church? That does not make sense or solve the problem. Most importantly, it does not protect our children.

There’s much more. Read on at the link.